Ladder hood



Sept.. 15, 1959 G. BOHAM ETALy LADDER HOOD Filed Sept. 5, 1956 IN VENTORS ATTORNEYS BOHAM ROBERT J. PAINTER FISQ.

United States Patent O LADDER HOOD Galen Boham and Robert J. Painter,Lima, Ohio; said Painter assgnor to said B'oham Application September 5,1956, Serial No. 608,157

1 Claim. (Cl. 182-108) This invention relates to anti-skid andanti-scuff devices for use with ladders to prevent scufiing of surfacesagainst which :the ladders rest and at the same time to act assafeguards against accidental ladder slippage.

Various anti-skid or anti-slip devices have been devised heretofore,examples being suction cups of rubber-like material or devices shapedfor mechanical engagement with a wall surface as by means of a point orthe like. In many cases, however, devices of the latter type cannot beused because of marring of or other damage to the wall surface and evensuction cups may cause rings or like marks on delicate paint work orwall paper.

The present invention provides a novel device having both good anti-slipand good anti-scuff properties, which is inexpensive and easy to applyand use, and which is adaptable to use under almost any conditionsencountered in practice.

One embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, but it is to be expressly understood that said drawings arefor puiposes of illustration only and are not to be taken as adeiinition of the limits of the invention, reference Ibeing had to theappended claim for this purpose.

In said drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the use ofdevices embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the device of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating an intermediate step in the manufacture ofthe device shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically the blank used in the manufacture of thedevice shown in Fig. 2.

For purposes of illustration, Fig. 1 shows part of a wall 1 againstwhich rests the upper end of a ladder cornprising side rails 2 and arung 3. The upper end of each side rail 2 is covered by a hood 4 held inplace by a 11.111- engaging strap 5, each device 4, 5 being of the typeillustrated in detail in Figs. 2-5, inclusive.

The hood part 4 of the device is formed of a piece of wool-bearingsheepskin, or other similar fur-bearing hide, fashioned to provide aninternal pocket into which the end of the ladder rail projects, andhaving the skin or leather side turned inwardly to line the pocket andthe wool or fur-bearing side .turned outwardly to engage a wall or thelike when the ladder is in use.

The hood may advantageously be made from a single piece of material suchas shown in Fig. 5 wherein the main or body portion 6 of the blank issubstantially rectangular in shape and is provided at about the midpointof its long edges with laterally extending tabs 7. When these tabs 7 andthe ends 8 of the body portion 6 are turned upwardly out of the plane ofthe blank as shown in Fig. 4, their edges meet and can be suitablysecured together to form the hood 4. Preferably each pair of meetingedges are turned inwardly for face-to-face engagement of theirwool-bearing sides (Fig. 3), in which position they are secured togetherby any suitable means such as stitching 9.

The arrangement just described provides a hood the outer surface ofwhich has a continuous and practically Fice integral wool coat over itsentire area for maximum antislip and anti-scuff protection. The insidesurface of the hood, which has wearing engagement with the end of theladder rail, is formed of leather to provide long life.

I-t is preferable, although not necessary, that the hood have a fairlyclose t on the end of the ladder rail, and it will be understood thathoods may be made in a variety of sizes and shapes if desired. Theapproximate crosssectional size and shape of the ladder rail for whichthe hood is intended can be used to determine the dimensions of theroughly rectangular portion of the body section 6 which is left when thetabs 7 and ends 8 are turned up as seen in Fig. 3. Of course, the hoodis flexible and can accommodate itself to rails of different sizes andshapes, but the hood pocket is normally approximately rectangular inshape and this shape together with the lines of stitching 9 at thecorners assists in holding the hood against turning on the ladder railand thus contributes to the anti-slip properties of the device.

Preferably the hood is held on the end of the ladder side rail by meansof a strap 5 formed of suitable exible and elastic material and ofadjustable length so as to be adapted for use under dilferentconditions. In the form shown, the two ends of the strap are secured tothe hood by stitching them at 10 to the ends 8 of the body section 6 ofthe blank, but it will be understood that these ends can be attached tothe hood at any other points desired by any other suitable means. Forpurposes of installation, the strap 5 is made in two parts andadjustability of length is obtained by the use of any suitableadjustable connection between the free ends of the strap parts as, forexample, the snap fastener part 11 on the free end of one strap part anda plurality of cooperating snap fastener parts 12 suitably distributedalong the length of the other strap part.

The use and the advantages of devices embodying the invention will beapparent =to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Itwill also be understood that the invention is not limited to theembodiment shown in the drawings and described in detail above, and thatchanges may be made in the form and details of construction of the partswithout departing from its spirit. Reference should therefore be had tothe appended claim for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A device for covering the end of the side rail of a ladder to providermer engagement between the side rail and a supporting surface againstwhich the ladder leans while preventing marring of said surface, saiddevice comprising a hood made of flexible sheepskin-like material in theform of an open-ended pocket shaped to iit over and cover the upper endof a side rail, said material having its wooly side turned outwardly forfrictional and non-marring engagement with the supporting surface andits leathery side forming the lining of the pocket, said hood formed ofsections having their edges turned inwardly to bring the wooly facesthereof in contact and form an uninterrupted wooly outer surface, saidedges secured together and forming ridge-like projections from saidlining, certain of said ridges extending parallel to the length of theside rail and adapted to engage the rail to hold the hood againstturning around on the end of the rail, and flexible strap means adaptedto pass around a rung of the ladder and having its ends connected to thehood to hold the hood on the end of the rail.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 0 D.170,355 Gross Sept. 8, 1953 2,066,7,13 Bowland Jan. 5, 1937 2,138,171Johnson Nov. 28, 1938

